


It Shouldn't Hurt Anymore

by Blackdresses13



Series: Strifelumhart Garden [1]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, trauma dump uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-08
Updated: 2020-10-08
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:00:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26886274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blackdresses13/pseuds/Blackdresses13
Summary: When Cloud’s screams turn to whimpers, Leon slowly moves his hand to cup his face. “Cloud, can you hear me?” He wants this to be a shorter dream. He wants this one to end quickly.Cloud has a nightmare.
Relationships: Squall Leonhart/Noctis Lucis Caelum/Cloud Strife
Series: Strifelumhart Garden [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1963891
Comments: 2
Kudos: 17





	It Shouldn't Hurt Anymore

**Author's Note:**

> tw nightmares and reference to trauma! there are no trauma details

When Leon first wakes up, all he hears is the harsh breathing beside him. It isn’t particularly loud, but it’s labored and frantic. Then he feels a hand grabbing at his back, the nails scratching into him through his thin, white t-shirt. And then he realizes:  _ Cloud _ . 

He turns over instantly, pushing the covers back just as Cloud starts to scream. Noctis jolts awake from across the bed, eyes scanning the room.

“Get the lights, Noct. I’ve got him,” Leon says as he starts carding his hand through Cloud’s hair. He’s crying now, his arms thrashing as if he’s trying to fight back. “I’m right here, Cloud. Please wake up.”   
Noctis turns on the bedside lamp and gets back into bed, taking Cloud’s hand when he starts scratching his own skin. He never knows what to say at the start, and Leon can tell it makes him feel weak.

When Cloud’s screams turn to whimpers, Leon slowly moves his hand to cup his face. “Cloud, can you hear me?” He wants this to be a shorter dream. He wants this one to end quickly.

“No no no no no  _ please _ -” is all Cloud can say before the screaming resumes, louder now as the panic sets in. Leon goes back to petting his hair, his hands shaking when Cloud starts pleading for it to stop.

Leon sees Noctis shifting out of the corner of his eye until he’s curled up right next to Cloud, still holding his hand.

“You’re okay,” he says. “We’re right here. You’re totally safe.”   
They keep at it for almost twenty minutes while watching Cloud relive the same nightmare that’s been haunting him for over a decade. They can’t ever wake him up, so they don’t try, but they do whatever they can to keep Cloud safe from himself.

“Leon…,” Noctis starts, burrowing his face in Cloud’s shoulder.

He looks over to Noct and sees the tear stains accumulating on Cloud’s sleeve. His hands start to shake again when he hears Noctis gasp.

“I hate this so much, Le. I hate that they hurt him like this, and I hate that I can’t fucking hurt them back.”  
And _god_ Leon understands how he feels. When they first started dating and saw all the scars on Cloud’s chest, he wanted to rip apart every single scientist at Shinra. The first time Cloud had a nightmare, Leon wanted to punch the wall the second he heard Cloud, a combat specialist and fourth grade teacher, pleading and screaming and crying because he was reliving a _memory_. He remembers Noctis telling him that the main reason he moved out of his old apartment was that every time he drove passed the Shinra warehouse down the street, he wanted to torch it.

Noctis, a seasoned fisherman and registered dietician, wanted to  _ burn down a building _ .

Leon gets it. But he also knows that punching a wall or tearing down Shinra won’t change what happened to Cloud. Nothing will change that. But Noctis can hold Cloud’s hand, and Leon can play with his hair until he wakes up and remembers that it’s over.

Sometimes Cloud jerks awake violently, but this time he gets a slow start. His eyes creep open, but Leon can tell he’s not really seeing anything yet.

“Zack…,” he croaks, and Leon sees Noctis freeze.

“Cloud, are you with me?” Noctis says, gripping his hand tighter and sitting up so he’s in Cloud’s peripherals.

“You’re...who…?”

Noctis starts crying again, and Leon, an expert strategist and professional florist, moves his hand back down to Cloud’s cheek.

“Your name is Cloud Strife. Today is September 30th. You’re at your house.”

Cloud coughs softly, “I’m...this isn’t….where?”   
“You work at Radiant Elementary School,” Noctis says, the tears evident in his voice. “You teach the fourth graders. Everyone says you’re a pushover.”

“And they’re right,” Leon adds.

Cloud just stares at them, and Noctis’s face crumbles as more tears fall. He’s still holding Cloud’s hand.

Leon hates this part, but he keeps going. “You got married when you were twenty-five. You met Noctis at a coffee shop.”

Cloud’s face softens just slightly, “That’s…,” and he looks up at Noctis. “You ordered...a dirty chai.”

Noctis nods, squeezing Cloud’s hand. “You met Le, I mean, Leon while on a run in the park.”

Cloud looks at Leon, who’s gone back to carding his fingers through the blond’s hair. “You...remembered me.”

Leon finally cries, his eyes welling up as he stares into Cloud’s baby blues. “Yeah, I did.”

Cloud lifts his hand and touches Leon’s face. “I’m sorry-”

Leon watches Noctis fall into bed again, curling up into a ball next to Cloud’s shoulder. “Don’t say that; please don’t say that. I love you. I love you. I love you.”

“Noct, wait-” Leon tries, but Cloud interrupts him.

“I love you, too, Noct.”

Noctis cries while holding onto Cloud like he’s half of all that he has left in the world. “I love you more than the stars and sky and the sun, Cloud. Please don’t say you’re sorry.”

Leon watches as confused tears start sliding down Cloud’s face. Noctis and Cloud feed into each other’s emotions like salt in water.

“It didn’t happen again, did it? I didn’t lose him again, right?”

Leon gently kisses Cloud on the forehead. “You never lost him, Cloud. He’s right next door. He’s perfectly safe.”   
“You saved him,” Noctis adds.

Cloud doesn’t say anything. He just stares at the ceiling.

Leon knows what he’s thinking, and it breaks him apart. “We’re not lying, Cloud.”

He wants to believe them, but he can’t.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my friend!


End file.
